Yesteday was First Monday: The Supreme Court begins again.

The economic news made yesterday’s “first Monday in October”, the ceremonial start of the Supreme Court’s term, seem like a detail. So now see Tony Mauro’s review at Legal Times and Law.com. The Court, which under Chief Justice John Roberts has not hesitated to hear environmental cases, will hear a substantial handful, including challenges under CERCLA (Superfund). In Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. v. U.S. and Shell Oil Co. v. U.S., the Court will decide whether the 9th Circuit correctly ruled that the petitioners–indirectly involved with the contamination–were jointly and severally liable for cleanup costs, rather than apportioning the costs to additional parties.